Does Crying Reduce Stress?

Do you cry too often? Does Crying Relieve Anxiety? Do you feel better after filling a bucket of tears? Well, theses are common questions that we often ask our friends who cry at every occasion; be it sad or happy.

But do you think that crying can have real health benefits? Let’s try to find out.

What Does Crying Do To Your Body?

Crying is cathartic. It helps in the release of stress, hence making you feel relaxed and comfortable. Tears take with it the demons of anxiety and depression before it hits your brain.  

Tears are just like sweat; they too help in releasing stress. Sweating it out in the gym, or crying while watching a daily soap might have a similar effect on your brain (not your body!). They help you in expressing your emotions, hence relieving you from any unwanted tensions and emotional baggage.

(Image Courtesy: Power Of Positivity)

Benefits Of Crying Every Day 

#1. Better Vision

In addition to lubricating your eyeballs and eyelids, tears also help in preventing dehydration in various mucous membranes. Without lubrication, you will not have a good eyesight.  

#2. Kills Bacteria 

Tears are our own personal and natural antibacterial and antiviral agent fighting against all the germs we pick up from public computers, shopping carts, and public sinks. 

Tears contain a fluid called lysozyme which can kill up to 90-95 % of the bacteria in just 5-7 minutes.

#3. Removes Toxins 

The emotional tears which are formed due to distress or grief contain toxic by-products which help in removing toxins from our body. 

#4. Elevates Mood 

Surprisingly enough, most of us feel better after a good cry. Crying can reduce the level of manganese, which otherwise causes anxiety, nervousness, irritability, fatigue, aggression and emotional disturbance. 

#5. Lowers Stress 

Tears are another form of perspiration, and therefore help in releasing stress. Studies suggest that tears release certain chemicals that affect the mood and stress levels. 

#6. Builds Community 

Crying contributes to your good health and also helps in building communities. It not only contributes to good health, but also builds community. Tears help in communication by creating foster communities.

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Does Crying Reduce Stress? 

Crying is known to be a very active stress releasing agent. Shedding a few tears can help you stay away from the damaging health effects including high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, obesity and heart diseases. Studies concluded that crying can help in washing down the chemicals that are the cause of creating stress in your body. Emotional tears are said to be loaded with adrenocorticotrophic (ACTH) which generously helps in the process. Crying aids in cleaning away cortisol, the stress hormone, the abundance of which can lead to stress related health problems.

More On: Is it Healthy to Cry

Stress and disappointments cause an imbalance, built up of chemicals in the body, and crying helps in reducing all of it.

Is Too Much Crying Bad For You?

Crying may be good for releasing stress but too much crying can make you the ‘cry baby’ of your group. Crying should not always be the medium of expressing your emotions. Some people cry for trivial and unimportant reasons while others won’t cry at all. 

More On: Easy Ways to Reduce Stress Naturally

Anything done in excess often breeds problems, so does crying. It can lead to respiratory distress syndrome, syncope, panic, and brain damage. Cry syncope is not only common in infants but in adults too. Women and children are more susceptible to this syndrome because of their higher tendencies of expressing their emotions.

In case of violent cry, the adrenaline hormone gets loaded in the blood causing constraints in the blood vessels, hence accelerating the blood pressure as a reflex against the stress.

The common ill-effects of excessive crying are:

#. Mental trauma

#. Anxiety, tension, and panic

#. Low self-esteem

#. Sleeplessness

#. Choking

#. Seizures

#. Cold

#. Cough

#. Vomiting

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Do you cry too often? Let us know in the comment section below.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Power of Positivity)